Pat Rizzo, He Does It All At Vicky's Lounge in Indian Wells

  On Tuesday March 8, I made it over to "The Desert Home" of live music in the Cochella Valley, Vicky's of Santa Fe in Indian Wells.  Vicky's is always the go to place to hear music. What other place in the Valley has live music 7 days a week?  None that I know of. My mission this night was to see the "Tony Bennett" show put together by Pat Rizzo.  I have seen Pat Rizzo performing as a member of many groups in the desert, but I really wanted to hear him leading a group so I could get a comprehensive view of his talent.  My first comment is that there is no doubt that Pat Rizzo has one of the strongest followings in the desert. And for good reason because Pat really does it all, plays tenor and alto sax, is a great flautist and has a great singing voice. In tonight's show, I was really impressed with Pat's sax playing, but the real surprise for me was how well Pat sings.  He sounds just like Tony Bennett. This is not an act. Pat's voice is really very similar to the great Mr. Bennett. Pat is not trying to sound like Mr. Bennett. He has an excellent voice and range of his own that is really exceptional.  Pat sang a lot of songs without one note he off key.  Remarkable for any singer.  I was really impressed with his ability to hit every high notes. Young singers could learn at lot listening to Pat.  Being a sax player myself, I can only tell you that I love the way Pat improvises his solos.  I only wish that I could have achieved the tone and dexterity that Pat puts forth every night.  Being the high- level musician that Pat is, it was no surprise to see that he had added the most professional sidemen to support him.  His pianist was the "great" Yarek Urant.  I have heard Yarek play for many other jazz groups but this is the first time I got to experience what Yarek could do with standards.  And the answer is he is one of the best pianist I have ever heard, bar none. If I could sing, I would want Yarek in back of me on the piano.  Brian Nova was on stand up bass.  I never heard Brian play, but I have heard great reviews from lots of musicians that know Brian.  Brian told me that bass is really not his best instrument, but not from my perspective.  He was perfect for the group.  I intend to catch Brian at one of his performances at "Beaux Arts". I can't wait to hear him play guitar.  The last member of the group was the drummer, Steve Neilen, whom I had not heard before.  He provided the perfect 4th for Pat's group and, his backup rhythums were solid.

One of the great things about live music events in the desert is that more times than not, talented people in the audience come up to sing a number or two.  Tonight was no exception.  Pat introduced Beverly Jensen aka: Beverly J. Leys and asked her to come up to sing.  What a treat she was!  Beverly has a great voice and a wonderfully way with a lyric. She was given a rousing ovation after she sang a couple of standards. Beverly could be staring in her own show, she was that good!  There was one other guest that came up from the audience to sing, Denny Seidenfeld.  Denny was a burning ball of energy and that's how he sings.  He did a great job especially since he later told me that performing is just a hobby with him.  Only in the desert do you get this high level of talent every where you go. 

The Hagen/Steele Trio: Jazz Under The Desert Sun At Beautiful Le Paon Restaurant

This past Saturday afternoon March 5, my wife and I had the delightful experience of enjoying lunch at the French Restaurant, Le Paon.  This gem of a restaurant is located above the most beautiful street in the Desert, El Paseo in Palm Desert, California. The purpose of our visit, in addition to lunch was to hear the new trio put together by Marty Steele that features the wonderful vocal sounds of Laura Hagen and the always great bass sounds from Bill Siata. I heard Laura sing a song or two at a couple of jazz events I had attended here in the desert, and I was looking forward to hearing more.  The setting at Le Paon is as close to perfect as it can get.  Sunny, temperatures in the low 80's, dining outside under a crystal clear blue sky while listening to some really great jazz songs directly out of the "Great American Songbook".

Laura's performance of a lot of my favorite songs, including several made famous by the great Peggy Lee, were just outstanding.  She had the ability to sing not only up-tempo tunes but also soft love songs. we all love. My own regret was that it took me too long to get to hear Laura perform her full show.  In addition to Laura's great voice, the arrangements played were some of the best I have heard in a long, long time. I later found out that Marty had written all the arrangements for the group.

But there were others surprises that afternoon.  First, I heard Marty Steele play with many of the Jazz groups I follow out here, but I never really got the chance to hear Marty play some great solos with some slow standards.  In particular, Marty did a solo on the old chestnut, Laura, that was just wonderful. I also got to hear Marty do what Mel Torme was renowned for, scatting.  Marty referred to this as "mindless scatting" but it was far from mindless, it was right on target. I had been told by all of the musicians I respect out here that Marty is a really outstanding talent. I agreed after hearing him play several times but I really got to hear and study him close up on Saturday and he really is one of the best I have heard anywhere. The third member of the trio was the always great bassist, Bill Saitta.  I try to get to wherever Bill is playing because it is rare today that you can get to see any one of his talent playing the Stand Up Bass.  I love the way Bill can play standards and especially like listening to his intelligent jazz improvising lines.  He is just one of the great bass players I have heard.
The last surprise was hearing my favorite flutist here in the desert, direct from Vancouver Canada, Tom Keenlyside.  Tom has surprised us at many of the jazz concerts we have attended and it appears he has become part of the desert jazz family. He played a few numbers with the band, and did a remarkable solo on the evergreen gem, "Stella by Starlight".

The Steel/Hagen Trio performs at Le Paon Restaurant every Saturday afternoon from Noon to 3:00 PM. If and when you find yourself on El Paseo on Saturday, this is the place to be.  The restaurant is beautiful, the food is great, the weather is always good and the sounds from Laura, Marty and Bill make it the most perfect afternoon lunch you will ever have.

The Top 10 Best Selling Dance Movies Of All Times

I was watching the Academy Awards with most of you the other night and thought it would interesting to list top 10 Best Selling Dance Movies Of All Times .  So, here is:

     The Top 10 Best Selling Dance Movies Of All Times

1. Saturday Night Fever   1977

2. The Full Monty   1977

3. Dirty Dancing   1987

4. Save The Last Dance   2001

5. Step Up 2 The Street   2008

6. Shall We Dance   2004

7. Staying Alive   1983

8. Step Up    2006

9. Coyote Ugly    2000

10. Billy Elliot   2000

Mike Costley, A Singer's, Singer!

The first time I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Mike Costley was at Jack Jones' birthday party at The McCallum Theatre in January 2011.  Mike introduced Jack and then sang "I am a Singer" with Jack to open the show. It was immediately evident that Mike had an excellent voice, and I knew I had to see if Mike was performing in the area so I could hear him in a more intimate setting.

Following the Jones' birthday party, I asked several of the local musicians that I respect and admire what they knew about Mike Costley and without exception they all said he was a great singer. I wanted to find how "how great" so I went to see Mike perform at Torme's, a great new Jazz Club in Palm Springs.  Mike performs at Torme's every Wednesday and Thursday night starting at 7:30pm.

From the moment Mike started singing, there was no doubt that he is a skilled and exceptional singer. Over the course of the evening, Mike demonstrated that he could handle a wide range of musical styles. He sang Sinatra, Ella, Jackson, Torme, Prima, and even the Beatles.  But unlike most singers that I have heard, Mike did not try to imitate these great singers.  Mike sang in his own unique singing style. It was so refreshing to hear Mike's interpretation of these songs. Only a singer with  great musical skills, a great voice and an unusual voice range could even dream of doing what Mike is able to accomplish. Mike is not only one of the best singers in the California desert but is one the of the elite singers in the US today. If you find yourself in the Palm Springs area, and you can only see one performer, you need to hear Mike Costley, period, end of story!

One last comment, Torme's Restaurant, in addition to just great music, has great food.  In my experience, normally this type of club has great music but only average food.  Torme's is an exception!   The prices are reasonable, and there is no cover charge for the music.  There is no better deal in the desert!

Andrea Bocelli's Top Five Favorite Love Songs

I recently came across a blog posted by The Miami Herald in its Entertainment Blog.  The article listed Andrea Bocelli's top five favorite love songs of all times.  Since the last blog I posted was about the top 20 loves songs written since 1960, I thought the list would be of  interest to my readers. According to Miami Herald these were the top five with comments from Bocelli:

1. E lucevan le stelle: "The tenor aria from Act III of Puccini's Tosca, the haunting song of the doomed Mario Cavaradossi, about to face the firing squad and able to think of the "sweet kisses and languid caresses" of Floria Tosca.  The song "sings the passion and despair of a man who loses, together with his life, also the woman he loves."

2. Strangers in the Night by Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton and  Eddie Snyder.  Made famous in 1966 by Frank Sinatra.

3. Donna non vidi mai: "Also by Puccini, from Act I of Manon Lescaut. The Chevalier de Grieux has just seen Manon and fallen hopelessly in love. "I have never seen such a women" he sings.

4.Core 'ngrato: "A much-beloved Neapolitan song written by Salvatore Cardillo for the celebrated tenor Enrico Caruso who sings "Ungrateful heart, you have stolen my life".

5.Un amore cosi grande: A contemporary Italian pop song, written in 1976 by Guido Ferilli. "A love so great, it warms us inside and outside".

Frank Di Salvo Sings Sinatra And The Great American Songbook

On February 17, I had the opportunity to see Frank Di Salvo his "Frank and the Sinatra Show" at the Indian Wells Resort Hotel.  I tried to go to this show with an open mind because as a devoted Sinatra fan, I have been disappointed so many times by performers trying to imitate Sinatra. What I found at the Frank Di Salvo show was an excellent performer with a strong clear voice who did an outstanding job singing not only a lot of Sinatra signature songs but also many other great songs out of the "Great American Songbook".  The title of this show was "Frank and the Sinatra Show" but this title does no justice to the great singing that I heard.  Frank brings his own style and strong voice to the Sinatra songbook, but Frank's singing talent is not just limited to Sinatra songs.

Frank sang the Sinatra classics with ease and did a particularly outstanding job on Paul Anka's great song "My Way" that he dedicated to his late father. He also received a strong audience response to the Guys and Dolls favorite, "Luck Be a Lady Tonight".

I was very impressed with Frank's renditions of "Mack the Knife",  the Rodgers & Hart tune from "Pal Joey", "I Could Write a Book" and the Joe Bushkin & John DeVries  great song "Look At Me Now". Frank is a relative new comer to the desert arriving here only 6 months ago.  But I have a feeling, listening to him that Frank feels like he is really at home here.  He is a welcome addition to the talented group of musicians that call the California Desert their home.  At the end of the 2nd set, Frank called up a friend of his, Marc Koltun who sang a couple of Johnny Hartman songs that were just wonderful.  I learned Marc has not performed in 20 years, but you would never know it. Hope Marc continues to sing, he has a really great voice and feel for great lyrics.

Frank will be performing at the Indian Wells Hotel on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  In addition, you can go to Frank's web site: "Frankdisalvo.com" to see where Frank will be performing.  Make sure you call for reservations because the word is already out that Frank is an act that should not be missed.

The New Standard, A "Must Have" New CD From Johnny "Amazing" Meza

For all of us who love to see and hear Johnny Meza  sing and play in person,  we now can get our dose of Johnny Meza by spinning his just released CD, "The New Standard". If you love "standards" this new CD is sure to please. Johnny has put together some really fine musicians on this CD starting with Will "Miracle Man"Donato on alto sax, Tony Banda on Bass and his brother, Ramon Banda on drums and percussion. The CD spotlights Johnny's hot new song "Dirty Martini" that moved into the top 20 new songs in Billboard Magazine. This is a great tune that becomes more intoxicating each time you hear it.  In addition, there is a terrific group of other great songs on this CD.  One of my personal favorites is "Hey Good Lookin" an old chestnut that Johnny puts new life into.  I think his version of this song in his own unique style is what Johnny "Amazing" Meza is all about!  This CD includes, in addition to the songs that Johnny has claimed as his own, several classic Frank Sinatra songs that Johnny performs as his own personal tribute to Mr Sinatra. If you like Frank Sinatra and Johnny Meza you will love songs like, "Fly Me To The Moon", The Tender Trap", "The Best Is Yet To Come" and "Strangers In the Night".  "The New Standard" CD is available on iTunes but if you go to see Johnny in person you can buy it from him, and I am sure he would sign it for you.  Johnny Meza is a winner and so is his new CD.